Upstairs at Caroline
The 'Chronicle' Is the Enemy; the Devil Signs Our Paychecks
RECEIVED Wed., June 2, 2004
Editor,
I have been under the weather for the last few weeks and unable to take up the pen. You performed passably in the interim, Mr. Black, dabbling in the role of diarist. Your more reactionary tendencies were held in check but for a single slip concerning the "oppressed" in the last "Page Two" article [May 28].
The diarist achieves a universal perspective by reflecting upon personal issues – admittedly a difficult task for a busy and important person like yourself, who must bone up on his weekly article while showering, as you describe it. I could think of no other reason except for a distracting schedule to explain why your recent "diary entries" reveal no growing concern for the future of your son. After all, the country is officially at war with an officially protean adversary. A 10-year war, by official estimates. Very soon now, our young men (and women, presumably) will be called up into the armed services. Every sign indicates a draft coming, regardless of the results of this next "free" election. Yet, your outrage these days is reserved for liberals who keep irrationally embracing the oppressed, even as the oppressed uprise and organize and blow themselves to smithereens.
Now, hasn't your paper pledged allegiance all these years to liberal standards like judicial fairness and sustainable growth and freedom of expression and so forth? I must say, sir, you sometimes appear as a wolf in sheep's clothing. I have begun to wonder who signs your paycheck. So, please tell us, is the Chronicle owned by the same media conglomerate that runs the Houston Press and the Phoenix weekly and other similar "alternative" papers in the other major cities of this country? Inform us if they do, because we deserve to know our enemy.
I have been under the weather for the last few weeks and unable to take up the pen. You performed passably in the interim, Mr. Black, dabbling in the role of diarist. Your more reactionary tendencies were held in check but for a single slip concerning the "oppressed" in the last "Page Two" article [May 28].
The diarist achieves a universal perspective by reflecting upon personal issues – admittedly a difficult task for a busy and important person like yourself, who must bone up on his weekly article while showering, as you describe it. I could think of no other reason except for a distracting schedule to explain why your recent "diary entries" reveal no growing concern for the future of your son. After all, the country is officially at war with an officially protean adversary. A 10-year war, by official estimates. Very soon now, our young men (and women, presumably) will be called up into the armed services. Every sign indicates a draft coming, regardless of the results of this next "free" election. Yet, your outrage these days is reserved for liberals who keep irrationally embracing the oppressed, even as the oppressed uprise and organize and blow themselves to smithereens.
Now, hasn't your paper pledged allegiance all these years to liberal standards like judicial fairness and sustainable growth and freedom of expression and so forth? I must say, sir, you sometimes appear as a wolf in sheep's clothing. I have begun to wonder who signs your paycheck. So, please tell us, is the Chronicle owned by the same media conglomerate that runs the Houston Press and the Phoenix weekly and other similar "alternative" papers in the other major cities of this country? Inform us if they do, because we deserve to know our enemy.
Thoughtfully yours,
Opal Walker
Opal Walker